I grew up in a generation that both romanticised and vilified Native Americans. Watching actors such as Jeff Chandler and Donna Reed assume Indian faces, I remained blissfully ignorant of centuries of true-life miseries. Back then, claiming Native American roots would have been as unthinkable as choosing to play an Indian in backyard gunfights.

During the years I traced my own roots, I knew nothing about American Indian genealogy. Since my family was from Northern Europe stock, I figured I had no need to cross the threshold into researching the first Americans. But all that changed a couple of years ago, after I discovered that my great-niece came from a mix of African and Native American heritage.

Society's view of American Indians has changed a lot since I was growing up, from movie roles to the role-playing in America's backyards. For my great-niece -- and millions of others -- American Indian roots have become a source of pride. According to the 2000 census, the number of people who identified themselves solely as Indian and Alaska Native grew by 26 percent from 1990, to about 2.5 million. Add to that the option of declaring a multiracial identity and the number jumps to 4.1 million.

Because of past animosity toward Native Americans, many families hid Indian blood, and may still be uncomfortable disclosing old family stories about Indian ancestors. "It's important to talk with your family as much as possible. Obtain as much information regarding your ancestors as you can," advises Meg Hacker, director of archival operations at the National Archives, Southwest Region. "I would recommend sitting down and talking with your family. Ask questions: Why does your family believe they are Native American? Go through family papers, Bibles, and letters, looking for birth, death, and marriage records."

Clues about Indian ancestry can surface from unexpected sources. A name you vaguely remember hearing as a child may be your first link to a shadowy past. An old tombstone may contain a reference to an "Indian" name or place.

Tony Mack McClure, author of Cherokee Proud (Chu-Nan-Nee Books, $22.95), encourages researchers to listen carefully to every old story "regardless of how ridiculous it may seem," and then to document every word. "A minuscule (piece) of information may seem unimportant at first, but could later prove to be the key that unlocks the mystery."

The most important mystery, of course is the name of your ancestor's tribe -- it's the key to finding records, as well as discovering your ancestors' culture and heritage. Look for that information buried in family records, vital statistics, letters or diaries. If you don't find it there, you'll need to expand your research into tribal histories and migration patterns.

In some cases, you'll need to know the migration patterns of a particular tribe or the many areas in which it was "resettled." For instance, over a 150-year time span, the Cherokee lived in the Carolinas, Georgia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

If your family belonged to one of the Iroquois linguistic groups, you'll learn that the culture was a matrilineal-descended through the female line. Children belonged to their mother's clan or tribe. Similarly, in the Ojibwa tribe, women controlled their homes and the family's property. Hopi women owned the property and their husbands worked to benefit the wife's family.

You may also encounter surprises with naming patterns and kinship systems. At birth, Plains Indian babies were given names that had a connection with their clan. Later in life, however, those children often received another name that reflected their personalities or deeds. Europeans frequently gave yet another (Anglo) name to the American Indians they interacted with. In the Wasco and Wishram tribes of the Interior Plateau, children received several new names during the course of their lives as they achieved higher rank or social postition. Nicknames were also common.

Regional libraries or historical societies are a good bet for tracking down information on the tribes in your ancestor's area. The genealogical periodicals that cover the region where your ancestor lived may contain sought-after information. One fo the best indexes to these periodicals is the Periodical Source Index(PERSI) (searchable at genealogical libraries and by subscription to Ancestry.Com PERSI is a subject indext that covers genealogy and local history periodicals since 1800; it contains more than 1.1 million index entries from nearly 6,000 titles. Using PERSI, you can find articles on subjects ranging from Ojibwa decorative quillwork to Seminole Negro-Indian Scouts, 1870-81.

The 1860 federal census added a category called "Indian (taxed)." From 1870 to 1910, the census had an "Indian" category, but it didn't include reservation Indians until 1890. Most of that census was lost to fire, though, so 1900 is the first available census that lists most Naive Americans.

Special counts were made of several tribes, with the best-known being the Dawes Commission Rolls, taken between 1898 and 1914. These rolls listed members of the Five Civilized Tribes. Cherokee researchers should also check the Guion Miller Rolls, taken in the early 20th century. This lists applicants for a federal fund to compensate families of Cherokee who lost land as a result of the Indian Removal Act, the 1830 law that relocated most of the Cherokee Nation to what's now Oklahoma.

NARA's Hacker encourages researchers to contact the National Archives regional office in the area where their tribe is located. Write that office with as much information as you have (without reciting your whole family history), and the staff will try to point you to the available records.

Another option is to contact the Bureau of Indian Affairs to obtain the phone number and address of the tribal membership office. Next, contact the tribe to see if it has records of your ancestor. You can access a tribal leader directory (in HTML or PDF format) or by contacting the BIA at 1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20240.

If your Native American ancestor served with federal troops, NARA may have a record of his veteran's benefits. The National Archives military records section has a separate alphabetical file for each American Indian veteran who served prior to 1870.

Because of the well-documented nature of the Five Civilized Tribes-so called because of their early assimilation to white culture-their records are amont the easiest to find on the Internet. The NARA Archival Information Locator (NAIL) isa database of selected microfilm and archival holdings, including several on the Oklahoma tribes. To date, about 80 percent of the Dawes Commission Rolls are online in the NAIL database.

• Query boards- Millions of researchers are on the Internet, and many of them routinely read queries. Query boards give you the chance to announce to the world the ancestor you're seeking, the heritage you're attempting to prove or the brick wall you've hit. You'll find dozens of query boards (also called forums) where you can post free messages requesting assistance at NativeTech.org.

  GenForum's American Indain bulletin board is another popular forum. And check out the recently combined Native American message boards from FaimilyHistory.com and RootsWeb, now at Ancestry.com under Topics. Once you've tracked down the general area where your ancestor lived, leave queries on the USGenWeb county pages for that location.

• Publications-Many tribes, historical societies and individuals publish journals or newsletters about a specific tribe or about American Indian research in general. These journals may include transcripts of tribal rolls, research tips or firsthand historical accounts.

  Also look for online newsletters such as Native American Ancestry Hunting. For a $35 annual subscription fee, you'll receive tips on searching, success stories, family histories, cultural information and links to tribal resources via e-mail. Publisher Laurie Beth Roman also maintains the free monthly NAAH Enquiries newsletter, in which you can post queries. To subscribe, send and e-mail to NAAHKITTY@aol.com and in the subject field type "Add to NAAH ENQUIRIES mailing list."